The Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory
Fire
March 25, 1911
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
PRACTITIONER 104 YEARS LATER?
PRESENTED APRIL 17, 2015 BY:
BRIAN M. MITTMAN, ESQ.
[email protected]
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO STILL
TALK ABOUT THIS LONG AGO
FIRE?
• As relevant today as 104 years ago
• Provides us with the a real purpose for what we do
• Educational benefits are a must, for lawyers, judges,
injured workers, politicians and the general public
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Recent NPR and ProPublica Articles
Relentless attack on the system
Things better but the same
Triangle Fire was the worst industrial disaster until The
World Trade Center Disaster and that was not at the
control of business or others
MODERN DAY OR
OLD WORLD EXAMPLES?
•
In China today – but ‘who cares’
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• 68,000 workplace deaths
• Untold injuries
• Price of competition with US? What will we sacrifice?
Bangladesh
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• 112 dead in a fire – sounds eerily familiar
• 1100 dead in building collapse at a Walmart sweatshop
Waco Texas
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15 dead in fertilizer explosion
100s injured
Multimillion in damages
Owners KNEW!
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
TRIANGLE FIRE AND ERA
• 1909 Garment Workers Strike – Triangle held out with
thugs and bribes
• March 24, 1911 New Yorks Workmens’ Compensation Act –
unconsititutional
• March 25, 1911 146 mostly young immigrant women die in
Triangle Fire
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Ladders only reached 7th floor
One door unlocked and opened in
Owners escaped through roof
Fire escape collapsed
…AND THEN
• Sullivan-Hoey Fire Prevention Law passed Ocotber 1911
• Took years for NY Constitution to be amended to pass
Workmens’ Compensation in 1914 (Article 1 §18)
• Factory Investigating Commission
•
Francis Perkins witnessed fire and later became Secretary
of Labor under FDR and lifelong advocate for workers
• No criminal indictment of owners
• Abysmal recoveries for a handful of families
• A true moment in US history – still affecting people today
THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND
• Created by John Sciortino, James McCarthy, Bill Crosset
and others involved in fighting for the rights of injured
workers
• Over $400,000.00 in scholarships since 2001
• Over 87 recipients
• Over 40 Schools in New York
• Children of parent(s) who have suffered a permanent
disability (partial or total) or whom were killed on the job
HOW TO DONATE TO THE
SCHOLARSHIP FUND
www.TriangleMemorial.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://rememberthetrianglefire.org
http://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/